However, as Rachel Maddow notes, despite his apologies, he has some work to do to prove his sincerity to the gay community. Back in 1998 he referred to a Clinton nominee as "aggressively gay." Barney Frank outright opposes the nomination.

Hagel now says he is "committed to LGBT military families." So, they're asking him to put his money where his mouth is. If he is nominated and confirmed, per my pal Chris Geidner at BuzzFeed, OutServe-SLDN's Allyson Robinson says Hagel "should immediately extend, via secretarial directive, all benefits available to married same-sex military couples and families.”